A Day in San Fransisco

As an avid traveler, my job allows me to travel, either to attend a conference, seminar or present papers in these events. I also ensure that I plan trips with my family as often as I can. Recently I had the opportunity to attend a course at Stanford University. Post the course I stayed back a couple of days at San Francisco, to be a tourist. Being a historian primarily, I donned the hat of both a tourist and a historian and visited some places. I booked myself on to one of the Hop-on and Hop-off buses, since I had paucity of time and did not want to spend time identifying tourist spots and other destinations.

In 1.5 days, I was able to see some interesting places.  

Chinatown

It is one of the oldest town (China town) in North America apart from being the largest Chinese commune outside Asia. It was established in 1848. It has become the home for several immigrants who find it as a “home away from home”. It is dotted with all types of shops which sell, Chinese vegetables and groceries, trinkets, souvenirs for tourists like me, hand embroidered silk Chinese coats, skirts, bags of all shapes and sizes to name a few. Historically it draws more visitors annually that the Golden Bridge Gate.

Sausalito

My friend took me on a ferry from the Bay to reach this tiny ship building centre during the World Wat 11 -Sausalito.   It is dotted with charming residential communities and unique shops (especially for tourists) and cafes. I could not visit the Bay Model and Bay Area Discovery Museum due to paucity of time.

Fisherman’s Wharf

The wharf relates the history and provides an understanding of the fishing community.

Historic signs, placed along the water’s edge of Fisherman’s Wharf by the Port of San Francisco, tell the Wharf’s history, give insight into today’s fishing community, and explain the need to protect the bay.

It was once a home to a fleet of more than 400 fishing boats. It is also known for filming the famous James Bond movie-A View to Kill (1985), where James Bond meets CIA Agent Chuck Lee to kill Max Zorin the villain.

The wharf is also dotted with little shops and boutiques. I fascinated to see shops entirely dedicated to socks, magnets, caps and sweets and candies to name a few. This apart I saw hordes of sea lions sunbathing on the wharf. They were all lying, not worried a bit, about the onlookers like me. 

Union Square

The Union Square got its name from the pro-Union rallies which was held on the eve of the Civil War. The monument is a tribute to the sailors of the United States Navy. Today it is an ideal tourist shopping attraction. It houses all the brands and shops where one can spend several hours either window shopping or buying some clothes and other accessories.  Historically the Union Square was a huge sand dune but in 1850 it was made into a public park.

Golden Gate Bridge

The massive and huge Golden Gate Bridge was built to connect San Francisco to its northern neighbours. It stretches to 1.7 miles long and is 90 feet wide. Its 4,200-foot main span between the two towers was the longest for a suspension bridge until 1981, while its 746-foot towers made it the tallest bridge of any type until 1993. It took over 5 years for the construction and was formally opened to the public in 1937. It proudly claims itself as an engineering marvel and is believed to be the most photographed bridge in the world.

Pier 35

It serves as a major cruise ship terminal and is in the Embarcadero area. It is known for the market place during the weekends. I visited the market on a Saturday and was amazed to see the fresh vegetables, fruits, sea food. There is a statue of Mahatma Gandhi which was given to the city in 1988 by the Gandhi Memorial International Foundation.  

One of my favourite sight was a doggy park, where owners walked their dogs, the dogs played and the owners chatted and admired their dogs.

Stanford University

It was founded in 1885 by Senator Leland Stanford and his wife Jane to primarily “promote the public welfare by exercising an influence in behalf of humanity and civilization”. It is nicknamed “The Farm” when horses roamed there. It is also nicknamed as “billionaire factory” it boasts of being home to Google, Hewlett Packard and other large economies. In fact, I was able to see a model of the original Google server model-made of lego. Today the University is proud to the birthplace for 19 Noble laureates and is ranked as the top three universities in the world consistently.

I used to go for long walks and discovered the Cantor Sculptor Center where I managed to see some of the great work/sculptors made by Rodin. I also encountered hares hopping across the roads. Students bicycled and were scattered all around the university. Interestingly Tiger Woods an Alumni used to practice golf in the golf course.